The Cuccoos
by Writer Not Writer
Summary: Link returns home, tired from a long day's battle, only to find some surprising guests waiting for him.


Coming Home

**Hey, Writer (Not Writer) here. While I'm working on DTUHAS, this idea struck me. I'm kind of a sad writer, as it's a good way to work through feelings going on in real life, so I write tragedies (but hopefully not sins) or hurt/comfort stories as it helps me get those emotions out of me and on the page. I'll return back to DTUHAS soon enough, but for now, here's this. I know it's Maypha, but the pairing isn't really here, only if you squint.**

The cuccoos were clucking a lot louder than usual.

Link trudged his way over to his newly bought home. The day had been a long one, with him having to defeat wave after wave of Moblins and Bokoblins attempting to attack Kakariko Village. He didn't know how Ganon's forces managed to find the hidden away village, but they decided to assault the sleepy Sheikah town all the same. The Sheikah had managed to contact him in time for assistance, something he happily provided. The Sheikah had been kind to him, and he would return that kindness in kind. Thankfully, defending the town had been easy than he had first thought, as the Sheikah were very capable fighters. Even the shy Paya quickly transformed into a strong, silent warrior, not unlike himself. After a great deal of fighting that lasted a better part of the day, every last one of Ganon's minions had been driven off. Impa had personally thanked him for his service, stating that he had been the spitting image of a hero. Link had offered to stick around in case they came back, but Paya, surprisingly, had been the one to speak out against it. Having such a long battle with no proper rest wasn't good for him, she had claimed, and that he should take a break every once in a while to recover. She said something about hating to see him hurt himself before blushing and shuffling off. And so, here he was, standing on the bridge leading to his quaint little home away from the village, the sun still shining its rays barely above the horizon.

He liked his home. While it was small, it had everything he truly needed: a bed and a table to eat on. It was quiet, save for the blasted birds he regretted keeping more and more. The people in Hateno were kind to him, and the village was generally safe from monster attacks. All in all, it was the perfect place for a person or a family to settle down.

Reaching the door, he sighed heavily, pulled out his keys, and went to open the door. The sound of people inside made his eyes go wide. A light was coming from inside the building. Drawing his sword, he slowly cracked the door open and peered in side. The door was quickly thrown open as a large figure blocked his entrance. "Hey there, little guy! Er, what do ya got your sword drawn for?"

Link looked from the figure to his blade before slowly sheathing it. "Sorry…Daruk, I'm just a little…jumpy…as of late. Can't be too careful with Ganon and the Yiga, ya know?"

Daruk let loose a large grin before throwing his arm around the tinier Hylian, Link not even budging from the display of affection. "That's out hero, never too prepared, right? Well, don't you worry none! With the Great Daruk around, no monster can defeat us!"

Link hesitated, but decided to humor him. "I know that…Daruk, it's just that…"

Daruk turned back into the house. "Hey everyone, guess who's back!"

"A warrior from a hard day's battle?"

"A man who finds new ways to be injured no matter what I tell him?"

"A guy who, through sheer luck and a complete lack of skill, became a hero?"

"Revali!" Link looked from Revali to Mipha, who was glaring daggers into the Rito champion. "We're all gathering her for a nice meal for one, I would appreciate you not insulting him."

"Fine, fine. I, Revali, am humble enough to be able to set aside my clearly warranted problems with that Hylian to enjoy a good meal." Revali boasted, gesturing to Link.

Link rolled his eyes and gave his head a few shakes before slowly walking further into his home. Approaching the table Revali huffed, turning back towards the table and leaning back slightly in his chair. Link watched him curiously, concern creeping across his face. Revali looked back towards him. "What? Worried I'm going to fall back and hurt myself? Like I would ever embarrass myself in front of you. I'll be perfectly fine, thank you. If you want to worry about anyone embarrassing themselves, you should be worried about your little girlfriend in the kitchen."

Before Link could protest on how Revali knew about his relationship, Mipha let out a slight sound of surprise. Link looked to the kitchen, making a move towards the kitchen before stopping himself. With a slight puff of smoke, Mipha backed out of the kitchen, waving her hand in front of her face. "Sorry, I'm not used to cooking. Usually you just do this for us, Link, but…I wanted to do it for you…" Her hands together on her chest, she looked towards Link, her eyes swimming with affection, "…just this once." She looked back towards her smoking mess. "Though, I suppose it's all for naught."

Link opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted. "Worry not, Mipha. Trying and failing is not the end of the battle. It just allows one to think and look for a new angle." Urbosa gestured from her seat at the table. "I haven't won every battle, and neither has Link. And even if he doesn't want to admit it, Revali has his own failures."

Revali scoffed. "Like you would know anything about my life."

Urbosa shook her head with a small smile. "Even so, it is fine to make mistakes, as long as one learns from them. Leaving your mistakes is what's wrong. Just like…" Urbosa gestured behind Mipha, "…you leaving the fire on with your burning meal."

Mipha's eyes widened, before rushing into the kitchen. Daruk laughed at the unfortunate plight of his fellow Champion before sitting down at his seat, the wood creaking beneath him. "Well, ya gotta give her credit for tryin'!"

Link frowned, rubbing his eyes. Burning food aside, he was tired. He wanted more than anything to sleep. But they were keeping him up. Again. Moving towards his bed, Daruk stopped his laughing and turned towards him. "Uhh, little guy? Going somewhere?"

Link turned to say something, before shaking his head and continuing towards the stairs. Urbosa rose from the table. "Link, I know after a long day of battle, the call of our beds is quite powerful. But a time to rest our souls with good friends and food can be just as nourishing, if not more."

Link huffed with slight annoyance. He just wanted to sleep, he didn't need to deal with this again. Turning back towards his fellow Champions, his complaint died in his throat. The looks of concern, even from Revali, halted his attempts at moving away. "Link?"

Link's eyes scanned across his friends before landing on Mipha, whose hand was brought to her chest. Reaching one out towards Link, she stepped closer to him. "What's wrong?" Link's eyes began to tear up before he brought his arm up to rub the tears away, as well as his eyes. He quickly turned away from her, unable to meet her concerned gaze. "Are you hurt? Did you get injured at Kakariko Village?" She moved closer to him, her hand grabbing onto his arm. Link looked back towards her, moving his eyes down to discover her hand on his arm, before quickly yanking it away from her.

"I…I can't…"

Mipha looked incredibly hurt at Link's sudden movement. "Link…?"

Turning from her, he moved swiftly up the stairs. Before he could reach his bed, a hand landed on his should just as he had reached his dresser. He flipped around, shaking off the hand. Link began to back up, his eyes darting around the loft at the various faces of concern. His hand went for the Master Sword, his fingers squeezing the grip to try to calm himself down. Urbosa and Revali slowly turned towards the wall to gather their weapons, but Daruk made a move towards Link, albeit incredibly restricted by the limited space. "Alright, little guy. Just take it easy. We're not gonna hurt you. The bad guys were defeated, right? Now ya can kick back and relax, right?" His arms were raised towards Link, cautiously moving towards the on edge swordsman.

Mipha made a move towards Link as well. "I promised to always heal you, remember? That means your soul as well. I would very much like to spend more time…possibly alone…with my closest…friend…"

As the two of them moved closer and closer to him, with the other two moving towards their weapons, Link began to panic, his breathing growing faster and faster. He brought his hand to his head. "No…stop…I…I can't…"

"Link, let go of your blade. There are no enemies here." Urbosa attempted to calm Link down, one hand raised forward as if to calm him down.

"Don't do anything dumb, Link. Well, dumber than usual." Revali warned.

"Stop…you…you can't…"

"Yes we can, Link. We can help. I know the burden you carry being the chosen hero of Hyrule is a heavy one, but we can help you carry it. Let us…let me…be there for you." Mipha comforted, her hand inching closer to his chest.

"Little guy, you're making a mountain outta a mole hill here. There's nothing to be afraid of! No Ganon, dogs, nothin'!" Daruk tried to position himself between Link and the other Champions, in case anything happened.

"I…I can't…do this anymore…" Link wobbled, his legs threatening to give out beneath him. He turned towards his dresser, his hands resting on the smooth wood. "It's…it's too much for me to t…take…"

"You don't have to do it alone, Link. We're all Champions, and that means we support one another." Urbosa, now equipped, walked towards him, gesturing to her waist. "We all bear the symbol."

"Yes!" Mipha stepped next to Link, his body contorting to move a bit away from her sudden advance. "We all signed up for this, knowing the risks. You can't blame yourself and take on all of it. Hearing your name alone was enough to make me sign up, knowing I'd be able to assist you."

"I…I know that…But you know I have to do this alone…you can't help me…" Link desperately attempted to explain.

"Are you saying we're not good enough to help? Are you suddenly too good for us, Mr. Hero? All thanks to that little darkness sealing sword on your back, you can now take on Ganon all by yourself?" Revali challenged, his frustration growing.

"You know that's not it! I don't know why I got lucky while the rest of you…" Link defended.

"Ah, ignore ol' feathers for brains over there. Ya weren't lucky, you were chosen for a reason! You're the one who has ta defeat Calamity Ganon! And we'll be right there with ya!" Daruk gestured to the entire group of Champions, his trade mark grin evident on his face.

"I know I have to…but I just…I just never thought I'd have to do it alone!" Link yelled, slamming his hands against the wall in front of him, tears beginning to fall freely. Regretting the action, he brought his hands down in front of his chest, his eyes boring holes into them.

"But Link, we have the Champions, the Guardians, and the Divine Beasts. You have us. You have me." Mipha moved closer to Link's left, her hand resting on his shoulder. "You're not alone."

"While I'm not all too sure on how we can win with you being the one at the helm, we do have me, so I highly doubt there's any chance of us failing," Revali boasted, striking a pose next to Link while shooting him a challenging smirk.

"When we fight as one, there are no threats, not the monsters, not the Yiga, not even Ganon, who can stand before us. We have strength in each other. Though that blade on your back is a nice bonus." Urbosa playfully teased, shooting him a playful grin as she took her place next to Revali.

Daruk rounded out the group, throwing his arms around them with a gigantic smile. "Yeah! We're Champions! Together, we can beat anything, even ol' Pig Face! Nothing can knock us down for long! So what do you say, little guy? You ready to take on him on together?"

Link hesitated. He wanted so badly to believe them. That he could do this. But every day brought new challenges, new memories, and new losses. Ganon seemed to grow stronger and stronger, and Zelda continued to grow weaker. He could feel it. His time to face the Calamity was coming. And he wasn't sure he could do it. He wasn't sure he could move forward. But he had to.

"You're…you're…"

"I'm right, aren't I, little guy?" Daruk grinned, the other three offering similar smiles.

"Dead."

The light vanished. The house had returned to its cold, lonely darkness. The smell of food vanished, dust quickly invading his nostrils of a home not lived in for weeks. Looking around, he found his friends had vanished as well, the warm familial feeling quickly fading to the gripping loneliness that plagued him all these nights. His tired eyes fell to his hands, tightly gripping the framed photo of him and his fellow Champions before the Calamity struck, the glass still stained with fresh tears. They were gone. He let them go. He _had_ to let them go. His legs failing him, he fell backwards on his rear, clutching the picture close to his heart. Finally alone, after so many similar nights, his emotions burst forth, his pained sobs masked to the entire world in his small, lonely home. And through all of it, for once, and maybe only once, he was happy he had kept them.

The cuccoos were clucking a lot louder than usual.

**Sometimes, you just have to let it go, let it out, and let it be. If you loved it, lemme know. If you hated it, lemme know. I appreciate the feedback on the path to being a somewhat competent writer!**


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